Page 63 - No Fear A Midsummer Night's Dream

No Fear Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (by SparkNotes) -63-
Original Text
O Sisters three, 320 Come, come to me
With hands as pale as milk. Lay them in gore,
Since you have shore
With shears his thread of silk.
325 Tongue, not a word.
Come, trusty sword.
Come, blade, my breast imbrue.(stabs herself) And, farewell, friends.
Thus Thisbe ends.
330 Adieu, adieu, adieu. (dies)
THESEUS
Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead.
DEMETRIUS
Ay, and Wall too.
Act 5, Scene 1, Page 16
BOTTOM
(out of character) No, assure you. The wall is down that parted their fathers. Will it please you to see the epilogue, or to hear a Bergomask dance between two of our company?
THESEUS
No epilogue, I pray you, for your play needs no excuse. Never excuse—for when the players are all dead, there needs none to be blamed. Marry, if he that writ it had played Pyramus and hanged himself in Thisbe’s garter, it would have been a fine tragedy. And so it is, truly, and very notably discharged. But come, your Bergomask. Let your epilogue alone.
Bergomask dance Exeunt BOTTOM andFLUTE
The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve.
Lovers, to bed. 'Tis almost fairy time. 345 I fear we shall outsleep the coming morn
As much as we this night have overwatched. This palpable-gross play hath well beguiled The heavy gait of night. Sweet friends, to bed. A fortnight hold we this solemnity,
Modern Text
stabs herself) Goodbye, friends! This is how Thisbe comes to an end. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. (THISBE dies)
350 In nightly revels and new jollity.
ROBIN
Now the hungry lion roars
And the wolf behowls the moon, Whilst the heavy ploughman snores, All with weary task fordone.
Now the wasted brands do glow,
Exeunt Enter ROBIN
THESEUS
Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead.
DEMETRIUS
Yes, and Wall too.
BOTTOM
(out of character) No, I assure you. The wall that kept their fathers apart has been taken down. Would you like to see the epilogue or hear a country dance between two of us?
THESEUS
No epilogue, please. Your play doesn’t need to be excused afterward with an epilogue. Never apologize—when the actors are all dead, no one can be blamed. As a matter of fact, if the playwright had played Pyramus and hanged himself with Thisbe’s belt, it would have been a very good tragedy. It’s a good tragedy, very well done. But come on, let’s see you do your dance. Forget your epilogue.
The actors dance, and BOTTOM and FLUTEexit.
The clock has chimed midnight. Lovers, it’s time to go to bed. It’s almost fairy time. I’m afraid we’re going to oversleep in the morning as late as we’ve stayed up tonight.This blatantly stupid play helped us kill the time until bed. Dear friends, let’s go to bed. We’ll continue this celebration for two weeks, with nightly parties and new fun.
They all exit. ROBIN enters.
ROBIN
Now the hungry lion roars and the wolf howls at the moon. The farmer snores, exhausted from his work. The charred logs glow in the fireplace, and the owl’s hoot makes the sick man think about his own death. Now is the time of night